Global financial wealth expanded 10.7% to $333 trillion in 2025, the fastest annual increase since 2021, according to Boston Consulting Group's 26th annual Global Wealth Report released Wednesday. The growth occurred amid trade disputes, tariff volatility, and heightened geopolitical risks. Equities rose 13.2%, while real assets gained 7.4%, constrained by elevated prices and rising supply in major developed markets. Gold surged roughly 44% as central banks accumulated reserves amid concerns over reserve currency stability. BCG projects financial wealth will grow at a 7% compound annual rate through 2030, assuming geopolitical tensions and energy disruptions ease in the second half of 2026.
Hong Kong Overtakes Switzerland
The report's most notable geographic shift: Hong Kong surpassed Switzerland as the world's largest cross-border booking center for the first time, with both hubs holding $2.9 trillion in cross-border assets at year-end. Hong Kong's rise was fueled by mainland China flows, which account for over 60% of its assets under management, along with a robust stock market featuring strong IPO activity and gains in benchmark-heavy internet platforms. BCG projects Hong Kong will grow at roughly 9% annually through 2030, though its trajectory remains closely tied to economic and regulatory conditions on the mainland. Switzerland, growing 7.6%, draws its client base primarily from Western Europe, a positioning that may prove advantageous as geopolitical uncertainty reinforces its safe-haven role, attracting flight-to-safety flows from volatile regions including the Middle East.
Two Distinct Hub Networks
The broader cross-border landscape is hardening into two distinct hub networks. One is anchored by Hong Kong and Singapore, serving mainland Chinese, Indian, and Southeast Asian capital. The other runs through Switzerland, the U.S., and the U.K., serving European, Middle Eastern, and Latin American wealth. Cross-border flows overall rose 8.4% to $15.7 trillion, with the top ten booking centers capturing nearly 90% of new inflows. Singapore attracted over 2,000 single family offices and more than 100 independent wealth management firms; its cross-border assets rose 10.3% and are expected to grow at around 9% annually through 2030. The UAE was among the fastest-growing booking centers globally, with cross-border wealth rising 11.1% in 2025, though near-term risks remain elevated given regional tensions. The U.K. is losing ground: cross-border wealth grew 7.0% to roughly $1 trillion in 2025, but changes to non-domicile and inheritance tax regimes are redirecting high-net-worth outflows, and BCG expects growth to slow to around 5% annually through the end of the decade.
Regional and Emerging Market Growth
Regional wealth growth varied considerably. Western Europe posted the strongest major-market advance at 15.3%, supported by favorable currency movements and a persistently high household savings rate. Mainland China's financial wealth rose 15% and is projected to grow at 9% annually through 2030. North America slowed to 7.4%, with gains concentrated in a narrow group of mega-cap technology stocks. Emerging markets are a central theme of the report. BCG projects those economies to add nearly $7 trillion in financial wealth and account for roughly 10% of global wealth growth through 2030, excluding China. India leads the group, expected to add more than $2 trillion in total wealth by 2030, followed by Brazil at $1 trillion and Mexico at $600 billion. The affluent-and-above segment (individuals with more than $250,000 in financial wealth) is forecast to grow 8% annually across these markets, creating more than one million new millionaires by the end of the decade. International wealth managers have largely pulled back from serving that segment, focusing on clients with $5 million and above as compliance costs rise. Local banks have the customer relationships and distribution reach to fill the gap but have been slow to build the investment products and advisory infrastructure the segment demands. BCG's research suggests retail banks that successfully build wealth management propositions in these markets could accelerate fee revenue growth by more than 50% over five years.
Generational Transition and AI Impact
Asia's wealth management industry faces a structural challenge: a generational transition with few historical parallels. Across Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, 40% to 50% of major enterprises remain under founder leadership, with median leadership ages above 70. BCG estimates that roughly 70% of Asian family enterprises remain in the first two stages of wealth governance—either entirely founder-centric with no formal succession plan, or held together by informal relationships without documented ownership structures. "Families are increasingly confronting succession as a design challenge rather than a single transfer event," said Michael Kahlich, a BCG managing director and partner and co-author of the report. "The firms that can help clients navigate governance, intergenerational alignment, and long-term wealth structures will define the next era of wealth management in Asia." The report also examines artificial intelligence's role. A single product announcement by a major tech firm can reshape competitive dynamics, and AI is expected to accelerate personalization and operational efficiency in wealth management. For more on how technology and demographic shifts are reshaping the industry, see EY Report: AI, Wealth Transfer, and Self-Direction Reshape Wealth Management by 2030. Additionally, Bernstein Survey: UHNW Families Prioritize Estate Planning as Geopolitical Anxiety Rises highlights similar trends among ultra-high-net-worth families.
